Lesson time.....

As mentioned in my last post, getting lessons from a really good pro was one of the tasks I identified.

One thing I have learned over the years of struggling with the golf swing is that I certainly am not going to teach myself. I got the opportunity of playing with a couple of European tour pros a couple of years back and was totally blown away by their ball flight and their swings. I promised myself at the time to come back and truly learn how to play this game properly. In the pursuit of this I have taken lessons from two of the top 50 teachers in the US as rated by Golf Digest and Golf Magazine. I stuck with both for at least 12 lessons. However, I saw relatively little progress in truth (despite the $150 a pop I was parting with). Now, I'm not saying that those pros were not excellent at their craft. I think finding the right pro is not just a matter of finding someone highly rated - it's more of finding a good match. I came away from those two experiences very frustrated believing that perhaps I would never get much better than a 5 or 6.

I had a go at trying to figure it out on my own for a while since then. I gave Jim Hardy's 'one plane' methodology a twist for one season with some moderate success but it seemed to desert me after a little while. Again, I think the problem is not with the methodology so much as it not being right for me. A season later I happened upon 'Stack and Tilt' and thought why not. For about 3 weeks I struck it so pure that I started getting some silly ideas but yet again it seemed to leave me after a short while.

So, last summer I found myself back to square one - unhappy with my game but not sure what to do about it. So, I set about finding a pro I could work with for the long haul. A friend suggested I talk to Tim Weinhart. I met with Tim and discussed his teaching philosophy and my goals.

At this point it seems like a really good match. I'm totally convinced by his teaching philosophy. (He teaches the swing by focusing on five key fundamentals - NOT to be confused with Hogans book). His manner is another huge bonus for me - easy going, not at all arrogant. (I'm sometimes a little intimidated by people who are leaders in their field :)) A very good communicator with a nice utilization of modern tools (video cam etc) without being totally reliant on them. I think it also helps the I have great respect for his playing accomplishments - numerous PGA championship appearances, PGA tour appearances etc. I do think it helps that I am totally open minded and prepared to literally forget everything I thought I knew about the golf swing.

We've had 6/7 lessons at this point. Still very much a work in progress. To summarize the major points we have worked upon so far:

• My grip was way off (club was in the palm of my left hand for a start)
• Stance was very closed
• Took the club way inside on the backswing (not surprisingly way across the line at the top)
• Way too much lateral movement

I think that's enough for this post. I will expand on some of the details of what I have worked on with Tim in the coming months. I think the key point is that finding the right pro is a process. Explain what you are hoping to achieve, ask questions about how they will help you get there and most of all once you pick a pro, give them the time to succeed - even with the best teacher results will not be immediate.